My Manager Fired Me For Being Pregnant — He Didn’t Know The Customer Watching Was A Crime Boss
Part 2
“She isn’t cleaning up a single damn thing,” a voice sliced through the tension like a straight razor.
It wasn’t loud, but it possessed a terrifying, commanding weight that froze the blood in Craig’s veins.
The crowd parted instantly as Vincent Romano stepped to the front of register three.
He wasn’t wearing his overcoat today, just a tailored black suit that emphasized the broad, violent lines of his shoulders.
His bodyguards stood silently ten feet back, their hands resting ominously inside their jackets.
Vincent didn’t even look at Craig.
His dark, furious eyes were locked entirely on my pale face and the tears spilling down my cheeks.
“Vincent,” I whispered instinctively, taking a desperate step toward him.
He reached across the counter, his large, warm hand gently gripping my shaking wrist.
“Are you in pain, Megan?” he asked softly, completely ignoring the stunned manager.
“I am okay,” I choked out, trying to steady my breathing.
Craig, recovering his bravado, puffed out his chest and stepped forward.
“Excuse me, sir, but this register is closed, and this is an internal employee matter,” Craig stammered, his voice losing its confident edge.
“Step back before I call security.”
Vincent finally turned his head to look at Craig.
The look in the mafia boss’s eyes was so dead, so utterly devoid of human warmth, that Craig physically recoiled.
“You fired her,” Vincent stated, and it absolutely was not a question.
“She destroyed store property and is incapable of meeting quotas,” Craig argued defensively.
“I am the manager here, and I decide who works.”
Vincent let out a low, dark chuckle that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
“Security?” Vincent mused quietly.
He slowly reached into the inner pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out a sleek, black smartphone.
“Tell me, Craig, who owns this particular chain of grocery stores?”
“Arthur,” Craig answered, trying to sound authoritative but failing miserably.
“Corporate is based in New York, and they fully back my decisions.”
Vincent dialed a single digit on his phone and put it to his ear while the entire store remained dead silent.
“Arthur,” Vincent said into the phone, his voice deceptively casual.
“It is Vincent Romano.”
“Listen to me closely, because I want the deed to your Chicago store transferred to my holdings by Monday morning.”
Craig’s jaw dropped as the wealthy woman in the fur coat gasped and backed away in horror.
“Name your price, double it, and send the paperwork to my lawyers, or I will embargo every shipping container your entire franchise relies on,” Vincent commanded.
He hung up the phone and slipped it back into his pocket, turning his lethal gaze back to my manager.
“You do not work for Arthur anymore, Craig,” Vincent whispered dangerously.
“You work for me, and I am instituting an immediate change in management.”
“You are going to apologize to her, and then you are going to get down on your hands and knees and clean up this sauce.”
Craig was trembling so violently that he looked like he might collapse right there in the aisle.
“I apologize, Megan,” Craig choked out, tears of absolute terror forming in his eyes as he scrambled for a mop.
Vincent turned back to me, the cold, violent mask melting away into a devastatingly gentle expression.
He took his coat off and draped it heavily over my trembling shoulders.
“Come on, Megan, you are done working here,” he said softly, guiding me away from the register.
“I am taking you to the hospital to get that baby checked, and then we are going to have a very long talk about your future.”
He had just saved me from the worst moment of my life, but as his dark eyes locked onto mine, I couldn’t help but wonder what he intended to collect in return.
